Sunday Times 2
Philippines suspends work on South China Sea military airstrip
View(s):MANILA, Oct 4 (AFP) -The Philippines said today it has shelved planned improvements on a military airstrip in the disputed South China Sea to support its bid for a UN ruling against Beijing over the tense territorial row.
Johnson South Reef, known to China as Chigua Reef and Philippines the Mabini Reef, in the Spratlys Islands in the South China Sea (Reuters)
The Philippines infuriated China in March by asking a United Nations tribunal to declare Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea a violation of international law.
China claims almost all of the sea, a vital avenue for world trade that is also believed to harbour vast oil and gas reserves. But its claims overlap in parts with those of the Philippines, as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the government had suspended long-planned upgrade work on a military runway in the disputed Spratly islands to boost chances of a favourable ruling at the UN.